Jacqueline Woodhouse, woman in racist Tube rant jailed

London
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Jacqueline Woodhouse, 42, of Romford, east London, whose seven-minute racist Tube rant went viral earlier in the year, has received a 21-week prison sentence at the Westminster Magistrates' Court.

BBC reports that Galbant Juttla, the man who filmed the incident on his mobile phone, says he hopes Woodhouse would learn from what happened.

The video of her racist rant in which she lamented, "I used to live in England, now I live in the United Nations," went viral online, receiving over 200,000 views on YouTube. Digital Journal reports that Jacqueline subjected fellow Tube passengers to extreme racist abuse, speaking in a thick Essex accent (see video above): "All f****** foreign f****** shitheads... Where do you come from? F***** all over the world, f****** jokers. F****** country's a f****** joke. I would like to know if any of you are illegal? I am sure like 30% of you are. F****** jokers taking the f****** piss."

According to prosecutor Claire Campbell, Jacqueliine was returning from a retirement party and had drunk an "unknown quantity" of champagne when she boarded the Tube at about 11 p.m.

Metro reports Woodhouse, who lost her job as a secretary, admitted causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm and distress to her victims at a hearing at the Westminster Magistrate's Court earlier in the month. On Tuesday, District Judge Michael Snow, said "Anyone viewing would feel a deep sense of shame that our citizens could be subject to such behaviour who may, as a consequence, believe that it secretly represents the views of other white people."

According to The Huffington Post, Woodhouse, dressed in a dark jacket, sat with her head bowed, nodding occasionally as the judge delivered judgment.

The judge, who banned Woodhouse from using the London Underground or Docklands Light Railway (DLR) while drunk for five years, observed that, "The train was packed with people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. The people included children. She became loud, foul-mouthed and aggressive. She targeted her behaviour at those who weren't white. She directed it at those who were close to her, on occasions directly into their faces. She threatened violence against more than one person and it took place over a prolonged period."

The Huffington Post reports that one of the subway travelers was left so shocked by Jacqueline's aggression that he said he no longer felt he could interact with white people on the Tube. Another traveler of Pakistani descent, said he felt victimized because of his "cultural background" and wished he could afford a car to avoid having to take the Underground.

Metro reports that Woodhouse had been previously fined for a similar offense on the DLR. According to The Telegraph, she had verbally abused a male passenger while on a train to Stratford, asking whether he had paid taxes and saying: "I have had enough of it, why don't they go back to where they come from?"

The judge said that her previous record reflected her hostility toward people of different ethnic background. The judge also rejected the claim that Woodhouse was "deeply ashamed" of her conduct. He said: "I find that assertion very difficult to believe. She initially pleaded not guilty. She changed her plea to guilty one day before her trial. By this time, she had victimized the witnesses twice over by causing them the inevitable worry of having to give evidence and coming into contact with her again."